Wellness is emerging as a fundamental part of the travel experience, a top priority for guests at all levels, and no longer a benefit reserved for luxury hotels and resorts.
But wellness is not just spa treatments and healthy menu options anymore. Today’s wellness trends incorporate self-care, quality sleep, personal and environmental connections, social responsibility, and sustainability, said Ana Ramirez, co-founder and wellness hospitality designer of Ancestral Handmade Hotels. Ramirez led a panel on the topic at the recent SAHIC Latin America & The Caribbean conference.
Hoteliers can adopt wellness elements at many levels, through programming, design, architecture and even technology. Small and large efforts can all be appealing, speakers said.
Eight Wellness Trends
Ramirez identified eight major wellness trends influencing travel today and in the future:
1. Climate-adaptive wellness design: “Think about cooling architecture, high-performance [buildings] and shaded structures,” Ramirez said. This trend acknowledges that people, buildings and technology work harder in the heat, and encourages elements such as evening and night programming, shaded structures and rooftop gardens.
2. Hyper-personalized wellness resorts and longevity hubs: “We want the wisdom of age and the biology of youth,” Ramirez said. That translates to med-spas offering youth-enhancing treatments and other options, such as menu items, that encourage longevity.
3. Sense-hacking and multisensory immersive design: Whole-body wellness means engaging all five senses, Ramirez said. Hotels and resorts exploring this trend mix technology with physical elements to engage all senses, such as immersive art installations.
4. Holistic connection and self-care: Ramirez said that while some early definitions of wellness hinted at isolation, many travelers now realize the value of connection and are planning trips with their people. “People are in search of their tribe,” she said. “Events focused on menopause treatment, culinary adventures, grief and other factors continue to grow.”
5. Biophilic design: Bringing the outside in is a hotel interior design pillar, and Ramirez forecasts even more design connected to the earth. She cited golf courses that encourage players to go barefoot.
6. Regenerative hospitality and communities: This trend takes sustainability one step further, as travelers seek out more information about local communities and resources when they travel and want to ensure that tourism is regenerative, Ramirez said. “Designing with nature, building with raw materials found locally and programming that blends ancient healing with modern practices transforms the stay and allows people to take more with them,” she said.
7. Sports and hospitality: Fitness is another wellness stalwart, and Ramirez said fitness now extends to recovery as well. In addition to pro-level workout equipment, guests want recovery amenities such as sleep aids — think high-tech mattresses, quality sheets, white noise — intravenous vitamin drips and cooldown tools.
8. Tech-health: Ramirez predicts the tech-based and artificial-intelligence-based programs people use in their homes, such as Peloton and Technogym machines that track progress, will grow in popularity for hotels. “These are things powered by digital health services that provide health monitoring and diagnostics,” she said.
How Hotels Add Wellness Elements
Hoteliers are increasingly feeling the long-term responsibility to incorporate wellness elements into hotel and resort projects, largely because many of the practices link to sustainability.
“Wellness is here to stay, and as planners, architects and designers, we have a responsibility,” said Marco Larrea, principal at EDSA. “When we do a master plan, we don’t say, ‘let’s put 20 units here and a golf course there.’ We look at a holistic plan for the environment.”
Technology helps a lot, Larrea said. Architects and designers can get terrain assessments and measurements before even visiting a site, which aid in more sustainable-minded planning.
Using what’s at hand creatively is another tactic, Larrea said. He spoke about a hotel project in La Paz, Mexico, where the land plot included an old farmhouse. Rather than raze it, the designers worked with the owner to create a wellness hub in the farmhouse with a farm-to-table restaurant.
“We put all the amenities right there and maintained 80% of the natural terrain,” he said.
Emilio Perez, senior continent leader of global design for the Caribbean and South America at Marriott International, said that wellness elements that connect to local communities resonate strongly with hotel and resort owners.
“The social component is so important for owners,” he said. “The social effect that our work produces in the region where we are is a pillar of the design process.”
Guilherme Cesari, vice president of development, luxe and lifestyle for Accor, agreed.
“The owners of a resort we’re developing now want restaurants that are in line with local vendors,” he said. “We’re having food that is not processed, that is very natural and healthy and at the same time, giving guests the chance to connect with the local community, which is an important aspect of well-being.”
And yes, spas continue their popular position as wellness hubs in hotels, speakers said.
“Wellness in the spa means activities that let you connect with yourself,” Cesari said. “It’s meditation, yoga, hikes and other activities you do for yourself, so you must have the facilities for those offerings.”